Sunday Citar:Remember The white space

I value the white space as necessary to understand the meaning of the space that is filled.

When I attended my first ballet, a friendly mentor explained to me to fully appreciate the ballet, I needed to balance my perception by appreciating the white space ...paying attention to the space and the design formed by the pattern between the dancers.

When attending a museum as a young student, a teacher also explained this to me not only to understand design, but to appreciate the skill in properly hanging art along a wall in a manner that adds to the meaning and the qualities of it.

In poetry, this is also an apt metaphor I think. Poetry provides meaning not only by what is said overtly and in the black ink, but in the space between the words, where one's mind and heart add meaning to the words and rhythms of the poem. Poetry too depends on this white space.

Pattern is formed by the rhythm between the white and the filled spaces.

I think Sundays are my weekly white space.

I am an extrovert as those who know me can attest to. I tire their ears sometimes, especially when I am struggling through a complex thought. You see as is definitive of an extrovert, I process externally through communications with others. It is fortunate that my loved ones are patient, as I have been known to go on tangents. As I have gotten older, however, I have also grown to value that place in-between as being important. That space of emptiness and light is where my soul is replenished and the darkness finds balance.

Playng hide and Seek OR Showing the Shrug in process

I know. Not an elegant picture of my current project. In fact it may be considered a bit odd. But you can kind of see that it has a diamond pattern, and is a lace weight charcoal. The knob coming out my ear is the sleeve. When completed it will be a Shrug. Its from the book A Gathering of Lace, and is taking a very long time to complete.

If you look real carefully you can just barely see my cockatoo's beak poking around in back of me. She is playing hide and seek, so there may be a couple of challenging little holes to mend if I am not careful.

A Good Day in the Neighborhood

Topping off a fun "girlie day" with my daughter yesterday, I went out for breakfast with my girlfriend this morning. I gave her the scarf, which was beautiful on her, ( I have a photo of that and will add it when I can get it off my phone, in the meantime heres a fav photo of a best moment) and we laughed, ate, walked, laughed more, shared stories and recent epiphanies, and in general do what women do when they have discovered the value of friends.

I didn't always get it. For most of my life I didn't place much value in intimate friendships, certainly not with other women. Career, fun, money worries, child-raising frets, emoting over romance problems or possibilities; these things seemed important. Spending time sharing with friends and daughters just didn't measure up to all those pressures. Not then.

Now... a few minutes laughing over shared memories and planning future outings with a close friend, or time spent in the early morning with my daughter knitting seems so essential to my well-being.

So today was a good day,

Breathe out the bad air, breathe in gratitude for all that is good, and for friends

I love walking on days like today. Today after hugging my friend good-bye at her car, I walked a mile down Broadway, among the wet leaves, in the fall drizzle. I realized I know business owners or employees in most of the business along my path. I know them well enough to ask after their families, the most recent tumult and share with them hopes for improved business during the holiday season.

I recognize some of the people walking by and sometimes one stoped to exchange pertinent small talk and smiles. Couldn't always remember the name, but it felt good to have these brushes with familiarity.

This is the " Sense of Place" I always said I wanted one day. When I moved to Portland with my daughter, I was 17 years old and on my own. I had never lived one place for any significant length of time. I hadn't yet developed any skills at crafting mutually nourishing bonds with others. I had never successfully sustained a relationship of any sort, in fact.

I am learning. Not real skilled at it yet. But I am improving.

And I always, always breathe a breath of gratitude while I work at it.

Finished

There is a nice satisfaction to finishing a project. I completed the scarf for my friend. Its blocking now on the dining room table. Here is a picture

Its a pattern by Brooke Nelson called Column of Leaves. Its a free download on Ravelry or you can retrieve it from her website. An easy knit. I chose Berocco Venezia yarn, worsted weight. Its a silk wool blend, very nice with good stitch definition.

I am almost finished with the shrug as well, looking forward to posting those pictures soon. As satidsfying as it is to be completing projects, I have the dilemma of which of the projects in my head do I knit now?

Time to research. I think the most difficult aspect of knitting is to decide on a project.

New Lyrics to an Old Tune for His birthday ---

Now you're 64

(sing to the Beatles tune)

Now that you are older, mourning your hair, Many years have passed
I still call you to lay in our bed
Birthday greetings, bottles of meds

When you are out till quarter to three, I don’t lock the door,
I do still need you, and enjoy feeding you,
Now you’re sixty-four.

I am getting older too,
And I ask you ,will you still love me, will you still tease me
When I’m 64?

You can be handy, mending a fuse
When my lights have gone.
I can knit a sweater by the fireside
Sunday mornings we go for a ride.

Doing the shopping, visiting rehab
Who could ask for more?
Yes, I still need you, yes, I still feed you

Although your 64

Every summer we rent a cottage,
In the Neakanie, cause it's not too far

We Pack up all the beasts and we have a little feast,
Although we’re 64,
we hold on for more ----


Happy 64th to my husband

On other matters With a comfortable theme.......my knitting

Knitting is a kind of mantra at times like this, its a place for me to let go of all that gets frazzled and tangled, finding the central thread and turning it into something pretty. I don't think much about what the product will be though. I like to get caught in the pattern, and the rhythm that the pattern creates. ..It beomes kinda of a hum as I knit and purl and add yarn overs finding the tempo and melody in it all. Once the pattern gets imprinted in my mind I can knit myself into a special place where nothing else even exists and my body has relaxed into the softness of the wool.

I started a new project with a wine red silk wool blend that is incredibly soft on my fingers and its rich jewel tone is just right as I create a column of leaves down the center of the scarf. Its a comfort scarf and I am filling my knitting of it with the love I feel for the scarf's recepient, my very best friend, Krista.

Its a Comfort Thing.

Perhaps its the smell of homemade soup simmering, the fireplace smoldering and the sound of "trick or treaters" recently visiting us that has made me feel all warm and settled inside. I realize a good portion of my energies in adulthood has been in pursuit of comfort. When there is warmth and softness when its a cold & wet night out of doors and I hear laughter (although silence is OK), I feel pretty good about how its all turned out.

When I am walking through the fall leaves (at least when I can withhold the thought that the task of raking needs to get added to my weekend list); I know that once I am inside it will be peaceful. I know that when I am inside my husband and I will share the days events with some level of interest and intensity; there will be a warm, relatively clean house; pets will greet me with enthusiasm, and I will go to bed feeling grateful for a very good life.

There are times I fret that life has become mundane, but on those days there is enough drama, in family matters and at work, to stave off boredom and to inspire growth.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Walking again

The day started out lovely in Camas Washington. Ok this cool picture is not mine. It was taken by

Randy Cox of the Oregonian, but it could have been taken yesterday. By the time we finished our walk yesterday this is what it looked like. We were totally drenched. A friend lives nearby and luckily was prepared with a dryer and a pot of warm soup. I brought my homemade bread.

It was a good day

I neglected to bring a camera though. So I went searching for a photo on the internet that revealed the drama of the sky in the Columbia Gorge as the storm approached. This one comes close

Lovely, Camas Oregon Taken on another day from atop Prune Hill just outside of Camas Washington, where I walked yesterday. The photo taken for ACTIVERAIN realtor shows the view in the morning when it was clear and the sky was a deep blue.

The black part of the sky did show in the distance. We were certain we would make it through the walk before the sky which had quickly darkened opened up. By the time we finished the thunder and lightening was dramatic and the rain was torrential.

It has been a long time since I could walk more than a few blocks; it felt great to be able to walk 7k. Long way from the marathons I have done in past years, but I am starting to believe I will one day walk distances again.

I know, uncool to go grab the photos of others. I am not taking credit for them and I did not steal bbandwidth. I will one day remember to bring my own camera and then remember to take a picture.

This is the view from the deck of the beachhouse in Neahkanie Oregon.

I spent two nights there and replenished my spirit and exhausted my body with long beach walks at dawn and at sunset. In between I wandered about, or sat on the deck knitting, or meandered through the short tiny "downtown" shops.

A longer stay would have been wonderful, but I am grateful for the time I had.

I completed the japanese vine scarf, picuture will be added shortly. Current work in progress is a shawl with sleeves from "A Gathering of Lace" a mini-cabled pair of socks and a scarf designed by Chrissy Gardiner. Cool autumn evenings are perfect knitting weather and I hope to be prolifically occupied with the needles in anticipation of holiday gift giving.

Can we talk about Knitting?

Its a habit of mine. I tend to develop a list when I start to feel overwhelmed by all I must, or rather WANT, to do. Right now its the knitting projects that are dancing before me and calling me to the needles. I am conflicted and mildly stressed trying to decide which to focus on. I have several projects on the needles right now. I admit to a sense of happiness in going from one to the other; although I do feel a little anxious about getting any of them completed. Here is my current list:

Ishbel shawl to replace the one lost on the TriMet bus. ( I pause to visualize the homeless woman likely sporting my lost, lovely shawl. At least she has a fashionable garment to ward off the morning chill.) I find the stockinette portion comforting to pick up for those parts of the day when I need to focus on more than knitting, like when my husband is sharing one of his stories (of course I 've heard his stories a few times in the past 37 years so full focus is rarely essential)

This pattern is the best. It has a healthy section in stockinette before it starts an interesting but very do-able lace section. Even if mistakes are made and not corrected it STILL looks good when complete. Just what I need. In a Blue Moon Geisha yarn, its yummy.

Goddess Mystery Shawl #13 It is really dormant because I am unhappy but not quite enough to rip it out. First experiment incorporating beads. Not my thing.

Socks for Krista I don't like this Bamboo yarn and while its a straightforward vanilla pattern, I have frogged it several times. It may sit a long time

Sweater for me in DROPS alpaca: A straightforward Gray cardigan The yarn feels so soft and wonderful to my fingers; I long to pet it. I adapted a back and forth pattern for straight needles to knitting on circulars. Its my intent to try steeking for the first time. I am brave, really really brave. (For any member of my non knitting family reading this. "Steeking" means taking scissors to the knitted fabric. A very traumatic image.)

Cable sweater for Steve Haven't really started this one, although I have the yarn. There is a competing pattern I would like to use this yarn for but haven't made up my mind.

Central Park Hoodie Its a KAL using a pattern from Interweave. I would like to join it but was going to use the yarn I had identified for Steve. Dilemma.

GlennaC Silkgarden socks A simple sock with a simple cable along the site. I am not using the NORO yarn she intended so have to change the pattern. Want to get into this, its a deceptively simple cable pattern. I have,however, become sidetracked with the stockinette portion of the Ishbel. By the way, Glenna has a lovely blog called "KNITTING TO STAY SANE". The pattern is a free download.

Japanese Vines scarf. A present for Mom (shh-don't tell her) Love the pattern, love the Louet eggplant color yarn in laceweight. Easy pattern to read in the knitted fabric once a bit of it is done, so its possible to identify mistakes as I go. This is a great pattern to learn a discipline of lace-- Meaning balancing reading the chart with reading the knitting and counting stitches as I go. There are four purl stitches that appear in the exact same place while all the other stitches vary with each of the 31 row repeat. That purl stitch grounds me as I proceed.

SIGH .. then there is a list of yarns beckoning to me from my stash with patterns that beckon for me to play with them. I especially want to use some FiberOptics laceweight for a snowdrop lace scarf design (Chrissy Gardiner design). Of couse I was going to double the width into a stole. Christmas is coming in the time it may take to complete about 2 lace, 1 sweater, and four sock project timelines. And there is a very lovely handmaiden seasilk yarn simply insisting its destiny as an elegant patterned scarf, if I will only let it find its way to that form through my fingers.

At least I have something to do .....

Of course I have lists of other things I must do before I pick up the needles. Too much on that list. Might as well knit.

Embracing paradox

By maturity I mean the ego capacity to appreciate the relativity of situations, the ability to take a historical point of view and to tolerate paradox. .. (From "Wisdom of the Ego" by George E. Vaillant - 1995 - Psychology - 394 pages)

Sock Summit 2009 is This Week

SOCK SUMMIT -

ITS A YARN STORM!

The upcoming ultimate knitting gathering, called the, SOCK SUMMIT 2009, begins this Thursday with events through August 9th. Oregon Convention Center is the place to be for all fashionable fiber nuts this weekend.

Yarn Dyers, fiber artists, spinners, designers, book authors, and lovers of all things yarn will be arriving from all parts of the United States and Canada as well as more far flung reaches of the knitting community. This event has been discussed, planned and anticipated by bloggers and knitters everywhere as THE PLACE TO BE this weekend.

Many are heartbroken at not being able to find a place in one of the classes,they filled quickly, no registration is required to attend the MARKETPLACE. This is an event that will likely be stupendous (sorry I couldn't think of a more descriptive word)As near as I can tell every yarn dyer and spinner, as well as other vendors of all things yarny will be there with their wares. AND there will be the knitting equivalent of rock stars, including:

Cookie A • Star Athena • Deb Barnhill • Judy Becker • Lorilee Beltman • Anne Berk • Cat Bordhi • JC Briar • Nancy Bush • Laurel Coombs • Angela Davis

• Carson Demers • Amy Detjen • Laurie Drew • Abby Franquemont • Chrissy Gardiner • Priscilla Gibson-Roberts • Marjan Hammink • Anne Hanson • Sivia Harding • Stephen Houghton • Janel Laidman

• Judith MacKenzie McCuin • Betsy McCarthy • Denny McMillan • Melissa Morgan-Oakes • Lucy Neatby • Tina Newton • Heather Ordover • Clara Parkes • Stephanie Pearl-McPhee • Karen Ratto-Whooley • Deb Robson

• Merike Saarniit • Joan Schrouder • Charlene Schurch • Amy R Singer • Meg Swansen • Barbara Walker • Anna Zilboorg

Its such a long list of knitting greats, I listed them all.

In addition the list of yarn brands represented seems to include every finer fiber artist from throughout this country and Canada.

AND to top it off there will be Guiness World Recordbreaking event for simultaneous knitting on Friday at 12:15. Tickets will be first come first serve.

Some local knitting shops are also offering events. Ask your favorite LYS what they are offering.

Personally I hope to meet a few of the wonderfully clever and talented people I have come to know through my laptop.

I may pick up an ounce of yarn or two.